Clas Ohlson opens second Lab Store

Published: 19 September 2018 - Fiona Garcia

Shoppers queue outside Clas Ohlson's second Lab Store, which opened today in Helsinki

The Swedish retailer opened the second of its new concept stores today in Helsinki, Finland, offering customers the chance to shop a more tailored, seasonal product range and experience Clas Ohlson “in a new and exciting way”.

The Lab Stores are small-format outlets, with what Clas Ohlson describes as, “a large and evolving content”. Products available in the Lab Store will be adapted to suit the season and the geographic location of the outlet.

The Lab Stores will tailor their offer to suit the season and location

Country manager for Clas Ohlson Finland, Sampo Päällysaho said of the Helsinki store: “We have opened a new Lab Store in the shopping area of Hakaniemi subway station. The theme for the store this season is “organise and decorate your home”, and the store’s location is perfect for quick purchases on the way to work or home. The entire range can also be pre-ordered and collected in the store.”

Clas Ohlson opened its first-ever Lab Store in Espoo, Finland earlier this autumn. The outlet, in Otaniemi, is located close to Aalto University and the product range has been tailored to students, with the offer and the entire experience set to evolve and change depending on their needs, said the company.

A third Lab Store – Clas Ohlson’s first in Sweden – will open in Sveavägen in Stockholm later this autumn.

Clas Ohlson had a strong start to the year, with sales up 10% to (around £167.6million) in Q1. Online continues to grow, with sales jumping 60% during the quarter.

The retailer says it sees great potential for growth in non-food products online and has announced an “aggressive growth goal” which will see the business double its online sales every other year. In December Clas Ohlson bought a 10% stake in one of Sweden’s largest online grocery stores, MatHem and the retailer has also announced plans tollaborate with Amazon this autumn in order to use the online platform to offer its products to customers in the UK.

Clas Ohlson debuted a new TV ad this month in support of its 'A Better Home' campaign that encourages consumers to thyink about reducing their smartphone use and re-connecting with their home.

The stores are designed to offer customers a different Clas Ohlson experience and will continually evolve and change